Pay rise to curb unrest

Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak
has tried to buy time in the face of defiant street protests, pledging to raise public sector wages by 15 per cent and ordering a probe into recent deadly violence.

The 82-year-old leader met his new-look cabinet for the first time on Monday as the regime battled to get the economy moving despite pro-democracy activists occupying a Cairo square since January 25.

According to the official MENA news agency, the cabinet approved a plan to increase state sector salaries by 15 per cent from April and to spend another 6.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($930 million) boosting pensions.

Mr Mubarak pledged to launch an “independent" investigation into violence between his supporters and demonstrators on Wednesday at Tahrir Square that left 11 dead and nearly 1000 injured, according to official estimates.

The commission will investigate “the terrible and unacceptable violations that made some protesters innocent victims", it said.

The pay rise might reassure Mr Mubarak’s partisans in Egypt’s large bureaucracy and security forces but there was no sign the demonstrators were ready to retire.